How To Dissolve The Mind To Abide In Consciousness (Brahman-Hinduism)

Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 15:02

The Four Veils Over Reality

Let us now see how we can annihilate, or dissolve the mind. The mind - with its thoughts, perceptions, and projections - exists only because of four interpretations; quality, activity, adjective and relationship (guna, kriya, visesa, sambhandha).

Because these are interpretations of the mind, wherever the mind functions, it functions through these only. In other words, the mind sees the quality of an object, "it is beautiful". Or the mind starts thinking in terms of its activity, "it is dancing", or in terms of its adjectives, "it is blue", or in terms of its relationships, "it is like what I saw yesterday". Therefore, when we look at an object through our conditioned, projecting minds, we never see the object as it is. We always see it colored through our minds' interpretations. " Pasyannapi ca na pasyati mudhah".

- One who does not have the right knowledge (of Truth), sees not even though he looks. He sees nothing but his own projections, his own thoughts.

Look at a flower, for example, and notice the thoughts that come into your mind: "It is a beautiful flower. It is yellow in color. It's a daffodil, My friend has daffodils in her garden.

Perhaps I should plant some, too". While you are looking at the flower, you do not see the flower. It is only a springboard for the mind to shoot ahead. The thinking mind is thought-flow by association. Therefore, when you see the flower, you can never actually see the flower itself. However, if you can see the flower as a flower- as it is - you see Brahman (Brahman in Hindusim) only. Remove quality, activity, adjectives, relationship and look at the flower.

Then what you see is nothing but Brahman (Consciousness or Brahman in Hinduism)So take a flower and try to see it as it is. Or look at a blade of grass. Don't name it. Remove the four judgments, or interpretations - guna, kriya, visesa, and sambandha - and look at it. Or look at a friend. Forget his(or her) name. Forget his (or her) qualities, his (or her) actions. Look at any object, whether it is the anu (the atom) or the whole universe. If these four interpretations are not there, the thinking mind is ended. In that still, alert moment of objectless awareness, you are you exist as pure being. Remember that these four are nothing but the interpretations, the prattling of the mind. Remove them and look. All that remains is the alertness of pure Consciousness.

To be continued

About the author

Swami Chinmayananda

Swami Chinmayananda in this write up which is an excerpt from His “The Highest Truth" explains the mind's properties which when removed results in the abidance of consciousness. This article is published in the Vedanta Vani of Chinmaya Mission.